Wish You Were Here
Salme is preparing to marry in Karaj in 1978, surrounded by four close friends who help with the tulle, jokes, and nervous anticipation of the wedding night. As the Iranian Revolution begins and the following decade unfolds, their friendships, homeland, and individual futures are transformed. Sanaz Toossi’s play explores diaspora through the perspective of those who remain, balancing political upheaval and personal change with sharp wit, intimate friendship, and irreverent humor.
The Studio Theatre production is directed by Sivan Battat and presented in the Mead Theatre. The production brings together an Iranian and Iranian-American creative team, with a cast portraying the friends and the “new friend” whose lives intersect across the changing decade.
When: September 23–November 1, 2026
Showtimes: The page lists September 23 and 24 at 7:30 PM; September 25 and 26 at 8:00 PM; September 27 at 2:00 PM; and September 29 and 30 at 7:30 PM. Additional performances are scheduled during the stated September 23–November 1 run.
Tickets: Price not available
Venue: Mead Theatre at Studio Theatre
Playwright: Sanaz Toossi, the Iranian-American playwright whose play *English* received five Tony Award nominations and whose honors include the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Horton Foote Award, the Hull-Warriner Prize, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the 2023 Obie Award for Best New American Play.
Director: Sivan Battat, a theatre director and cultural organizer whose Studio Theatre credits include *Problems Between Sisters* and *Heroes of the Fourth Turning*. Battat has also directed at Playwrights Horizons, Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodman Theatre, the Old Globe, and other regional and New York companies.
Cast: Ellen Nikbakht as Nazanin; Layan Elwazani as Salme; Ellena Eshraghi as Zari; Shadee Vossoughi as Shideh; Ari Derambakhsh as Rana; and Ege Yalcinbas as New Friend.
Understudies: Ege Yalcinbas understudies Nazanin, Shideh, and Rana. Katie Ganem understudies Salme, Zari, and New Friend.
Production team: Scenic design is by Omid Akbari, costume design by Shahrzad Mazaheri, lighting design by Nic Vincent, projections design by Doaa Ouf, sound design by Kenny Neal, dramaturgy by Adrien-Alice Hansel, production stage management by John Keith Hall, and casting by Katja Zarolinski, CSA.
Related events: Artists in Conversation discussions follow the 2:00 PM matinees on October 4 and October 10. The October 16 performance includes a pre-show gathering with food from a local Persian-owned restaurant and a post-show discussion with Marjan Moosavi, an assistant professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Maryland, as part of a celebration of the DC Persian community. A Childcare Matinee is scheduled for October 17 at 2:00 PM in partnership with the National Children’s Theatre; childcare services are available in connection with that performance.
Underwriting: The production is underwritten by Albert Lauber and Craig Hoffman, and Teresa and Dan Schwartz.
Run time: Not specified on the page.
Age guidance: Not specified on the page.
Accessibility: Childcare is offered for the October 17, 2:00 PM Childcare Matinee. No other accessibility information is provided.